Man arrested in Gastonia for setting fire to Tony’s Ice Cream shop in August

GASTONIA, N.C. (WBTV) - A man has been arrested for setting a fire at an iconic Gaston County ice cream shop in early August.

The Gastonia Police Department arrested Marvin McCaskill, 35, of Gastonia for attempted murder and arson-related offenses that occurred at Tony’s Ice Cream during the early morning hours of Aug. 4.

Around 5:45 a.m., the Gastonia Fire Department responded to a fire at Tony’s Ice Cream. Firefighters determined that a fire had occurred inside. An employee who was working inside the business at the time of the fire was not injured.

The Gastonia Fire Marshal’s Office conducted an origin and cause investigation and determined that the cause of the fire was incendiary in nature and contacted the Gastonia PD to begin a criminal investigation.

GPD detectives determined that the suspect broke a window to the business, threw a flammable accelerant inside the broken window, and fled the area.

In late October, investigators obtained a search warrant for a DNA sample to be taken directly from McCaskill.

On Nov. 14, GPD investigators were notified that the DNA sample obtained from McCaskill was a 100% match to the suspect’s DNA recovered at the crime scene.

Investigators obtained a warrant for McCaskill’s arrest charging him with attempted first-degree murder, burning certain buildings, possession of a weapon of mass death and destruction, attempted malicious damage of occupied property by use of explosive or incendiary, and felony breaking and/or entering.

McCaskill was arrested on Tuesday.

Bond information for McCaskill is not yet available.

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